Dante

Dante is the recurring protagonist of the Devil May Cry franchise, and the main playable character for the majority of the games in the series. He is the second son of the demon Sparda and the human Eva, and the younger twin brother of Vergil. Dante is a paranormal mercenary, private investigator and vigilante Devil Hunter dedicated to exterminating evil demons and other malevolent supernatural forces; a mission he follows in pursuit of those that killed his mother and corrupted his brother.

Appearance
As stated in an interview with original series creator Hideki Kamiya in the Devil May Cry Graphic Edition artbook, the earliest ideas he had for Dante's design were centered around three key points; "[a] long, stylish coat" to make the character "showy", "[a] British man" as Kamiya wanted him to be a "witty, yet traditional fighting man", and "doesn't smoke cigarette[s]", believing that the character was too cool to smoke.

In the same interview, another noted influence on Dante both design wise and character wise was Cobra of the acclaimed Japanese manga and anime series Space Adventure Cobra. Kamiya believed Cobra's cocky attitude and red attire were key points for a "heroic" character. Ironically, despite Cobra being a heavy cigar smoker, Dante himself does not smoke, as Kamiya believed Dante to be cooler without a cigarette.

Ever since Devil May Cry started development as Resident Evil 4, Dante has had white hair. It's remained in a consistent style throughout the series, although there are a few differences between installments.

In Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 4 his hair is somewhat parted with his bangs brushed down; in Devil May Cry 3 his hair is brushed down with his bangs partially covering his eyes, and in Devil May Cry 2 his hair is much thicker, with his bangs parted in front of his right eye.

Dante has worn a myriad of clothing throughout his many appearances, yet his most glaring trait is his affinity for red-colored apparel, often in the form of long, two-tailed coats.

In Devil May Cry 3, Dante wears long, tan colored jeans, black fingerless gloves, and military-style boots. His coat has zippers on the sleeves and a buckle around the waist, and two brown, leather holsters on the back to carry Ebony & Ivory. Contrary to later games, Dante does not wear any form of clothing underneath his coat, going shirtless throughout the whole game, displaying his silver half of the Perfect Amulet around his neck, as well as his bare, well-toned chest and muscular physique. Following Dante's first battle with Vergil, his half of the amulet is stolen and the right sleeve of his coat is damaged, with Dante tearing it off afterward. In his final confrontation with Vergil, his left glove is slashed across the palm by Yamato, and the epilogue shows that Dante keeps it on his desk, perhaps in remembrance of his lost brother.

In the original Devil May Cry and the anime adaptation, Dante wears red pants with two black belts wrapped around his right thigh, a black, leather belt, black gloves, and high, black boots. Dante's coat is much basic in design, with an upturned collar and short sleeves with black cuffs, though the coat lacks coattails. Underneath the coat, Dante wears what appears to be a black long-sleeved shirt, with a red vest with black clasps over it. In numerous cutscenes, his half of the Perfect Amulet is once again on display, yet it appears infrequently and is not a permanent feature on his character model.

In Devil May Cry 2, Dante's outfit is identical to the one seen in the first game, but with more pronounced, poignant features. He wears high black boots and red jeans once more, yet has a single belt wrapped around each thigh. A belt featuring a skull themed buckle wraps around his waist, and he wears black, gauntlet shaped gloves with three buckled straps on each one. His coat is a deeper red than in the previous game, with two coattails, yet the coat has a more pronounced buckled collar, and a black strap going over his right shoulder wrapping around his chest, with two golden studs on the front. The front of the coat is also patterned individually from the rest of it, resembling a sort of vest or body armor, with a zipper closed all the way up from the waist to the bottom of Dante's neck, perhaps reflecting his introverted nature seen in the game.

In his appearance in Devil May Cry 4, Dante's outfit arguably takes on it's most flamboyant look. Dante once more wears red pants, yet they are almost completely covered sans his crotch and rear by long, black leather motorcycle chaps featuring a brown, cowboy boot design around the ankles. He wears black, loafer looking boots, and black gloves exposing his knuckles and index finger on each hand, and his pants are wrapped with a black belt featuring a silver emblem decorated with a demonic skull. The coat is given a much more detailed and stylish look, with Western and Italian features, and a deep red, almost crimson color. Once more the coat is short sleeved, with numerous gold colored studs decorating the shoulders, collar, and chest, and a single zipper on the front, yet Dante is never seen zipping it up in-game. Underneath the coat, Dante wears a black, zipped up undershirt with three clasps closed together with ornate, golden buckles, and medium length sleeves that can be seen passing his shoulders. This undershirt is also zipped up just below his neck and features an upturned collar which complements the one on his coat. Another noticeable design choice separate from Dante's outfit is his chin, covered with short, black stubble, reflecting his older age, as stated by designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa in the Devil May Cry: 3142 Graphic Arts book that Dante is "around 40" by the events of Devil May Cry 4.

In Devil May Cry 5, Dante's outfit takes on its most simple look. His red jacket is faded, has a washed-out look, a skull on his back and also resembles his Devil May Cry 4 jacket. He wears an ordinary black henley T-shirt with three buttons as the sleeves itself reach through his elbows, where it also features torn details, for his wrists he wears black driving gloves and white bandages. For his legs, he wears a black belt with golden accents, black jeans and brown boots. His hair and beard also grows after being comatosed for a month. This gives Dante a more grungy look. Dante's black henley T-Shirt also appears dark blue during the daylight when he battles Vergil during their duel and their sparring match in the epilogue.

Following his defeat by Urizen, Dante's hair had grown out considerably during his recovery, and is now the same length as it was in Devil May Cry 2. His clothes are also muted in color and dirtier as well.

Personality
As seen at the beginning of the series, Dante is incredibly flippant, casually mouthing off to even the most powerful of demons, and he generally enjoys showing off and taunting his adversaries as often as he can. Dante also displays a fearless, almost disinterested attitude towards incredibly dangerous situations, such as assuming Trish simply had to use the bathroom after crashing through his office's front door on a motorcycle, being attacked by the Seven Hells in his office, being swallowed by Echidna, and effortlessly shrugging off wounds such as a headshot or impalement numerous times, the latter of which happens quite frequently for the Devil Hunter.

While maturing as time goes by, Dante never loses his care-free, devil-may-care attitude, except in Devil May Cry 2. He can be serious when the situation calls for it, but still maintains an overall laid-back demeanor during tense situations, and is never without a witty taunt or comeback. Although seemingly shown at times to be uncaring or callous, Dante maintains a very strong sense of justice like his father, and prefers to fight fair, thus he never fights humans or opponents that are weaker than him. He can be counted on to do the right thing, even if he makes humorously cynical quips about it the entire time.

Unusually, while he has displayed discomfort with his own demonic side, only coming to accept it following the events of Devil May Cry 3, Dante has little qualms about accepting demons that choose the side of good and admires their desire to be human, such as Trish and Bradley, even though Dante has been quoted as believing that "Humans are often worse than demons." in the anime, he refuses to kill full-blooded humans for any reason, believing it would make him no better than any Devil, be it human or demon.

In addition, Dante values family and friends very highly. He cared deeply for his mother and, despite their differences and conflicting ideals, for his brother, Vergil. Even after their intense duels and conflicts in Devil May Cry 3, Dante still tries to prevent Vergil from willingly falling off the edge of the Human World into the Demon World, and goes so far as to cry over losing him. While he says little about his father, Sparda, over the course of the series, Dante has been shown to clearly maintain a level of respect for, but for a time bitterly resented him due to his absence and inability to prevent Eva's death. While bitterly claiming that "[he doesn't] have a father" in his first fight with Vergil in 3, he eventually comes to accept that he is a son of Sparda and grows to respect him as the game goes on, proudly claiming in his final duel with his brother in the game that not only do they carry Sparda's blood, but his soul as well. He also makes a humorous comment towards Arkham, as he smugly claims that his father wasn't as hideous as his twisted form, citing his own physical appearance as proof. He even shows a degree of paternal concern for his nephew, Nero in Devil May Cry 5, as was shown by his warning him of the dangers of facing Urizen again. Dante's concern for his nephew is further demonstrated by telling Nero the truth of their relationship, and attempting to protect him from the darkness of killing his own father while displaying a great deal of familial bond with his brother's son.

Dante also enjoys fighting, as is shown when he restrains himself from using his full potential but he is also quick to unleash his full power if his opponent proves to be sufficiently powerful. In Devil May Cry 4, he was clearly going easy on Nero in their first confrontation despite having seen his nephew in action, as he overpowered him in their second clash with only a mediocre amount of effort. In the anime, Dante gets bored with fighting weak opponents and only finds entertainment in fighting strong opponents who will give him a challenge. Dante's enjoyment of fighting was further emphasized in his pre-battle banter with Echidna, asking her if she agreed with him that "a fight every now and then makes life more interesting". After it is hinted that Vergil is still alive through Urizen, Dante at first sought to kill his brother thinking he was corrupted beyond salvation. However, after Urizen and V merged to be once again the Vergil he knew, they clashed again in a battle to the death until Nero stopped them with his newfound Devil Trigger. After entering the rubicon of the task of saving the world by entering the Underworld, Dante and Vergil decide to stay behind in order to finish the job, occasionally slaying demons and dueling each other. It is through this time that their sibling bond was somewhat rekindled, with both brothers enjoying the battles and banter.

Despite Dante's handsome appearance, he often has terrible luck with women, a condition he ironically reflects upon in Devil May Cry 3 when Lady shoots him through the head after he attempts to keep her from falling.

In the animated series, Dante was shown to be one of the few characters in the Devil May Cry series to swear. Dante was frequently shown to be foul-mouthed, repeatedly swearing in almost every episode. Although this attitude wasn't present in the games, in Devil May Cry 5, he is shown using coarse language when angered, which is noticeable in his final battles against Urizen/Vergil.

Despite verbally complaining about being in debt, Dante seems quite willing to perform missions solely for the good of them, and rarely, if ever, enforces payment from poor clients. In fact, Dante will typically refuse any job he dislikes, regardless of how much it pays, but will immediately take on any paranormal cases, especially those involving demon hunting, with or without pay. Many of his clients take advantage of his hospitable nature, and leave bills for property damage caused during the mission instead of paying for his services. Interestingly, despite his claims of having low funds, Dante still manages to pool up enough money to purchase pricey luxuries for his office, such as a pool table, a jukebox, and several expensive pieces of musical equipment such as electric guitars.

He often borrows from Lady, and often attempts to gamble to repay his debts to her and others. However, he has extremely bad luck with all forms of gambling, even with something as simple as a coin toss, and loses any game not involved with demon hunting. As a result, he is deep in debt to Lady, and is often left with no money at all after she takes her cut. However, in Devil May Cry 4, Lady actually pays him a small, single role of bills for his "assistance", implying that he no longer owes her money.

Dante has a fondness for pizza, usually with "everything" on it, and while he complains about olives, he always ends up with them on his pizza. In the animated series, he is also shown to favor strawberry sundaes as well, with it being pointed out on several occasions that those two foods are seemingly all he eats. He also has a fondness for alcohol, specifically whiskey.

Early life
Dante and his older twin brother, Vergil, were born to the legendary demon Sparda and the human Eva where they lived in a remote home near Red Grave City. As young children, Sparda would train the boys and for much of Dante's early childhood, he didn't realise his father was a demon. Sometime before their eighth birthday, Eva gave Dante and Vergil each a half of the Perfect Amulet. Eventually, Sparda died under unknown circumstances, leaving Eva and the twins alone. When Dante was eight years old, he and his family were attacked by demons. Eva was killed, and though both Vergil and Dante survived, the twins were separated, and Dante believed Vergil to have died. Dante followed his mother's last wish, and took up a new identity to hide from the demons, Anthony "Tony" Redgrave.

Some years later he found himself under the care of a woman posing as his mother on Morris Island. He befriended another boy named Ernest. Tony and his "mother" were forced to leave town when a demon attacked and burned down the town.

Years after the Morris Island incident, Tony became a mercenary, and frequented Bobby's Cellar. He befriended a local gunsmith named Nell Goldstein, who built his signature handguns. A massacre occurred at Bobby's Cellar, a man named Grue died, and his daughter died during a demon invasion at the hospital she was in, and Tony was blamed for all of it. Nell was also killed during this event, and Tony knew who the man who killed her was, but remains tightlipped about it.

Devil May Cry 3 manga
Dante is first seen eating a pizza after having showered. Enzo enters Dante's unnamed shop and announces he has a job for Dante. Dante goes to Enzo's room at a brothel to learn more. After defeating some demons with only his handguns, he picks up a leaflet offering a four million dollar reward for the return of a missing girl named Alice. Although initially reluctant to accept the job, Dante does eventually agree to do it for the money, and heads out to find the girl.

Dante goes to a castle infested with demons. After going through a few fights, he finds out that Alice had run away with a demon, the White Rabbit, who has possessed her rabbit doll. After a heated discussion between Dante, "Rabi", and the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit tells Dante that Alice has purity, a trait only valued by demons, and she is willing to sacrifice it for all the fleeting things humans value. After he strips Alice of her purity, the White Rabbit transforms her into what humans consider beautiful. Alice starts to flirt with Dante, but he refuses her advances, angering Alice and provoking her to change into a demon and attack. In response, Dante transforms into his Majin Form, which he uses to overpower and defeat her without harming her.

The White Rabbit tells Dante that he was the one who gave Dante the job, a fact that annoys Dante. When Dante asks why he did all this, Rabi states that he simply wanted to see "the legendary son of Sparda" in action. Having witnessed what Dante is capable of, the White Rabbit informs Dante that he has already paid the reward. Just before Dante leaves, the White Rabbit offers to buy his half of the perfect amulet, which Dante declines.

Later, Dante goes back to his shop and finds Alice there waiting for him. She manages to steal his amulet when he puts it down to take a shower, having thought he scared her off. When she escapes, Dante follows her, and finds a map with directions on it. Dante follows the directions to a church, where the Mad Hatter tries to trick Dante into giving a name to an ancient demon whose name was stripped from it by Sparda. Dante refuses, but then Vergil appears and names the demon, anyway.

Dante is initially relieved to find his older twin still alive, but it soon becomes apparent that they have different goals in mind, and that each stands in the other's way. Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet is dropped between them, and they begin to fight over it. Vergil, armed with Yamato, wins initially and takes possession of the amulet, but gives it back at Dante's demand. The twins part ways again.

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
The game starts with Dante sitting in his yet-to-be-named shop. Arkham comes to the shop and gives Dante an "invitation" to the Temen-ni-gru on behalf of his brother Vergil; as soon as he leaves, Dante is attacked by a swarm of hell jailers. Dante effortlessly kills them all, and heads to the tower in search of an "interesting time". Meanwhile, Vergil speaks to Arkham about his plan to reopen the portal to the demon world and obtain his father's power, in the form of the Force Edge sword that lies there. Within the tower, Dante encounters and defeats the demonic gatekeepers who were sealed away by his father, as well as the demon hunter Lady, who is in pursuit of her father Arkham, and the demon Jester, who guides him through the tower for his own reasons. Upon defeating most of these demons, Dante acquires their souls in the form of new weapons and combat styles. Dante, Lady, and Vergil eventually discover that Arkham is Jester, and was using all of them in order to open the portal and acquire the Force Edge for himself, using it as a means to gain Sparda's power and become a god. After defeating Arkham in the Demon World, Vergil and Dante duel for the ownership of the Force Edge. In the end of the battle, Dante claims ownership of the Force Edge, while Vergil chooses to remain in the Netherworld.

Dante matures considerably as a result of his ordeal, and inspired by Lady's courage and commitment to her own family, he continues his demon hunting business with a greater sense of purpose. They become partners and he decides to call his shop "Devil May Cry", in reference to what Lady said to comfort him over the loss of his brother Vergil:

Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry begins with Dante being attacked in his office by a mysterious woman named Trish. He impresses her by easily brushing off her assault, and tells her that he hunts demons in pursuit of those who killed his mother and brother. She says the attack was a test and that the demon emperor Mundus is planning a return at Mallet Island. She takes him to the castle there, but abruptly disappears.

Dante explores the castle, slaying minor demons and finding weapons, and encounters the spider-like demon Phantom, while looking for a way to proceed through the castle. Dante wins the battle, but Phantom soon reappears and chases him through the halls of the castle. After further exploration and combat, Dante battles a demon named Nelo Angelo who impresses Dante with his confidence. The demon pins Dante to a nearby wall, but suddenly flees upon seeing the half-amulet Dante wears. The demon attacks twice more in later missions, and is eventually revealed to be Vergil, killed and manipulated by Mundus. After Nelo Angelo's final defeat, his half of the amulet joins with Dante's half-amulet, transforming the Force Edge into its true form, the Sparda.

When Dante next meets Trish, she betrays him and reveals that she is also working for Mundus. She lures Dante into a final fight with the bio-weapon Nightmare, but Dante manages to kill the monster. In the resulting chaos, the room collapses, and Trish is almost crushed. Dante saves her, claiming it was solely because of her resemblance to his mother. Furious because of her betrayal, Dante warns her to stay away from him. Yet when he finally confronts Mundus, who is about to kill Trish, Dante chooses again to save her but is injured. Mundus tries to finish him off, but Trish takes the attack instead. Dante's emotion at this tragedy unleashes his full power, allowing him to take on the form of his father. Afterwards, Dante and Mundus battle on another plane of existence with Dante victorious.

Dante leaves the Perfect Amulet and Sparda sword with Trish's immobile body before departing. However, just as Dante reaches the castle's hangar, Mundus, who is now back to his regular strength, returns and corners Dante. However, Trish also returns and lends Dante her power. Dante is able to defeat Mundus by sealing him away again. When Trish tries to apologize, she begins to cry. Dante tells her that it means she has become human and not just a devil, because "devils never cry". Dante and Trish narrowly escape on a plane as the island collapses. After the credits, it is revealed that Dante and Trish are working together as partners and have renamed the shop to "Devil Never Cry".

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series
Unlike the games, the animated series focuses on Dante's "normal" missions, and his day-to-day life. Dante also changes the shop's name back to Devil May Cry.

On a regular day in the office, Dante is hired to transport a young girl named Patty Lowell to her father's house to receive her inheritance. However, she is revealed to have been a decoy for the true heir, and takes to living with Dante until her mother is found. Other recurring characters include Lady, Trish, J.D. Morrison (Dante's liaison, much like Enzo), and Sid, a lesser demon who is later revealed to be the true antagonist. Throughout the series, Dante would be pestered by Lady and Trish for his debts to them while Dante also interacted with Baul & Modeus, former apprentices of his father and would do odd jobs with Lady such as taking down a motorcycle demon, in which she "deducted from his debt" rather then paying him his share, and she helped him lure out a gambling demon in which Dante was shot near the heart by Lady after he was put under a magic spell. Dante would also do jobs to help normal humans, like when he helped free an innocent man who was guilty for accidentally helping a demon kill his friend. Also in this series Dante met Ernest who mistook Dante for Tony, a childhood friend of his who resembled Dante. At the end of the series, Dante accidentally angered Patty when he asked "Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders?" forgetting she was an orphan. Shortly thereafter, Dante met Patty's mother who had him protect an amulet that, at the time was nothing more than a family heirloom but was discovered to be a piece of a ritual that sealed away Abigail, who along with Sid attacked Dante and captured him in the demon world. Dante was eventually saved by Patty and proceeded to defeat Abigail and kill Sid. After this, Patty moved out of Devil May Cry, and Dante, Trish, Lady and Morrison went out of the city for a mission and Patty made visits to clean his shop.

Devil May Cry 2
Dante aids the character Lucia in defeating Arius, an international businessman who uses demonic power and seeks to conquer the world by attaining the power of Argosax the Chaos. At the end of the game, Dante must go into the Demon World to stop a powerful demon from escaping, but the gate closes behind him and he is trapped. With no way back to the human world, Dante heads even deeper into the demon world on his motorcycle. There is an extra scene after the credits, in which Lucia is sitting in Dante's office when she hears a motorcycle outside and rushes out to see who it is. It is not shown whether the arrival is Dante or not.

Devil May Cry 4
Everything was set into motion when Lady came to Dante's office, offering a job. She told him about the Order of the Sword—a small congregation in the castle town of Fortuna, which worships Sparda—much to Dante's surprise.

She explained that there is a legend of Sparda in that he served as a feudal lord at the city a long time ago. She also said that although peaceful worship can't be condemned, the Order's members recently started catching demons and collecting Devil Arms, interfering with her work. Trish, who was present and heard all this, departed with the Sparda sword, leaving a "see you there" message written in lipstick on the wall. There was nothing for Dante to do but to go to Fortuna like she is now, with Lady. He watches the two female devil hunters kill the demons who are entering the street where Devil May Cry shop is. After the demons are all finished, as he's out of pizza, Dante left with the two girls in separate ways.

Later it is revealed that the Order's increased activity was because of The Savior — a giant artificial demon created by the Order, which is only controllable with Sparda's blood and sword. They started creating smaller copies of the true Hell Gate, which they powered with the gathered Devil Arms. These were needed to harvest demons in order to power The Savior, as well as to lure Dante to Fortuna. It seems that Dante became aware of their plan, most likely through Trish, who disguised herself as Gloria and handed over the Sparda sword to infiltrate the Order. After watching Nero defeat a group of Scarecrows from the rooftops, Dante makes his entrance in Fortuna through the roof of the Opera House during the Festival of the Blade, executing the town's vicar, Sanctus, and slaying several Holy Knights who try to subdue him. Nero, one of the Holy Knights, enraged that his love-interest Kyrie has been endangered, interrupts Dante and keeps him busy until Kyrie and her brother Credo can escape. Dante fights with Nero and initially retains the upper hand while still holding back until Nero reveals his Devil Bringer and overpowers Dante narrowly, ending with him hurling and stabbing Rebellion into Dante's chest. Easily surviving, Dante praises Nero for his performance, even openly saying he has rarely met an opponent like him. Dante then reveals to him that the slain knights were actually demons, and leaves with a cryptic message to Nero, claiming that "We're the same...you and...I...and them [the fallen knights]. Though I suspect you carry something different from the others".

He then leaves Nero and heads for Fortuna Castle. On Credo's orders, Nero follows Dante, catching up to him at the entrance to Mitis Forest. However, Dante escapes by falling from the cliff into the forest. Nero finally confronts Dante within the Order's headquarters, but Nero no longer seeks to capture Dante because he has been betrayed by the Order and just wants to defeat Sanctus and save his love interest. However, Dante challenges him for his brother's sword, Yamato, which Nero now possesses. After an intense battle, Nero disarms Dante, but Dante then easily knocks him down, unarming and pinning him down to the ground, while holding Yamato close to his neck. After Nero finally acknowledges that Dante has not been fighting to kill, Dante releases him and explains that Yamato is the key to the Demon World, but allows Nero to continue using the sword because Nero needs it to rescue Kyrie and he has gotten calm and cool-headed now.

However, Nero is absorbed by the Order's partly awakened The Savior, which is controlled by the revived Sanctus. Credo is mortally wounded trying to stop Sanctus, and the Yamato is taken by the Order's scientist, Agnus, to open the true Hell Gate in Fortuna. At the dying Credo's request, Dante follows The Savior back to town to rescue Nero and Kyrie after sending Trish to help the citizens escape to safety. Along the way, he kills Echidna, Dagon, and Berial, destroys the three fake Hell Gates they had emerged from, and obtains the Devil Arms that had powered the gates. Once he returns to the Opera House where this all began, he finds Agnus. The two fight, with Dante easily emerging as the victor and killing him after a brief lecture on the strength of a human's heart. Dante recovers the Yamato, closes the Hell Gate, and destroys it.

This catches the attention of Sanctus, who attempts to kill Dante using The Savior. However, while he is unable to destroy or enter the colossal statue, Dante is able to weaken The Savior enough that he can reawaken Nero by returning the Yamato to him. Dante continues to distract The Savior while Nero tracks down Sanctus and slays him. Nero succeeds and breaks free of The Savior with Kyrie and the Sparda in his hands. However, before Dante could drag away an apology from Nero, The Savior reawakens as The False Savior, a weakened version of the creature created by the weapon's merge with Sanctus. Nero hands Dante the Sparda, and attacks the atrocity with his Devil Bringer, destroying it. When the battle is finally over, Nero thanks Dante for his help. Afterwards, he attempts to return the Yamato to Dante, but tells him to keep it.

Nero asks if he will meet Dante again, but Dante leaves only with a simple wave. However, before his departure after killing the remaining demons in Fortuna at a same location where Nero protects Kyrie from the remaining demons, Dante reunite with his female colleagues, as the three are watching Nero and Kyrie kiss each other in distant range before they depart to Devil May Cry shop.

After Dante returns to his shop, Lady enters and thanks Dante and Trish for helping her by eliminating the Order. She hands them the case with their payment, but it is revealed to contain only a few banknotes. Against Trish's protests, Lady claims that it was her fault that the situation got out of hand. Dante calms them down by commenting: "We take what we can get, right?". Suddenly, the phone rings, and Trish informs Dante that it is a customer with the password and is in the vicinity. Trish and Lady decide to come with Dante on this mission, and the scene ends.

Devil May Cry 5
Some time after Devil May Cry 4, Dante has his shop stripped of electricity and water due to not being able to pay his bills. This soon changes when Morrison brings him a job request that pays Dante cash upfront which brings the electricity and water back as soon as he arrived. In addition, Dante is informed that Patty wanted him to join her 18th Birthday Party but he decides to take the job to avoid going. Morrison introduces Dante to his latest client, the mysterious V. To Dante's dismay, Morrison went off to grab Lady and Trish, claiming that this was a "big job". Alone with V, Dante is asked by V to investigate and stop the Demon infestation in Red Grave City, which was organized by the Qliphoth tree planted by Urizen, who V reveals to be on a different level than any opponent Dante has ever faced, even the likes of Mundus and Argosax pale compared to Urizen. V also reveals to Dante that Urizen is in fact Vergil. Dante, along with Lady, Trish, and V, leaves for the city, having left Morrison to guard his shop.

Dante, Trish, and Lady travel through the Qlipoth to confront Urizen while V unexpectedly departs; secretly intending to bring Nero for extra assistance. Dante fights Urizen after he defeats Lady and Trish but he is brushed aside by Urizen. Nero arrives and attacks Urizen but he is badly beaten. Dante recovers just in time to change Urizen's focus from Nero to himself, thus beginning "Round 2". In Devil Trigger, he buys Nero and V enough time to escape, but even in Devil Trigger, Dante is effortlessly overpowered by Urizen and his sword, Rebellion is shattered. Urizen taunts Dante as he wraps the roots around Dante, but Trish, using her remaining strength, throws the Sparda to Dante who grabs it and changes into his Devil Trigger form again. Charging at Urizen once more, Urizen swats him away, sending him and the Sparda flying out of the Qlipoth.

Dante remains in a month long coma, with his hair grown long and covered in Qliphoth blood, until he is ultimately woken up by V, who nearly stabs him with the Sparda. Upon awakening, he is briefed on everything that has happened up until this point by V and thus hurries back to the Qlipoth to fight Urizen once again and save Nero from getting himself killed. Along the way, he defeats Cavaliere Angelo and rescues Trish from within; also acquiring the Cavaliere. He returns back to his old home where he remembers that he accessed his Devil Trigger when Vergil once stabbed Rebellion into his chest years ago and briefly wondered why his father gave him the Rebellion. He soon quickly comes to the realization that while the Yamato was used to separate, the Rebellion was used to unify. He stabs the broken Rebellion into his chest where the Sparda absorbs the Rebellion, allowing Dante to achieve his Sin Devil Trigger and obtain his new weapon: Devil Sword Dante.

With this new power, Dante quickly goes to the Qlipoth where he arrives just in time to save Nero. He easily overwhelms Urizen who is forced to retreat once the Qliphoth fully completes its emergence in the human world. Dante soon reunites with Lady, Trish, V, and Nero where he is informed that Urizen is at the "top" of the Qlipoth which Dante confused for the "bottom". He also meets Nico who gives him a gift: Dr. Faust. Dante attempts to dissuade Nero from continuing the mission, but V convinces Dante to allow it. He splits up from everyone, declaring that this was "his gig", though in reality, he wanted to take care of business for Nero's sake given the circumstances.

After battling the unleashed gatekeeper known as King Cerberus, who Dante reminisces from encountering the last demon of his kind and acquiring the Devil Arm of the same name, Dante encounters Urizen in an illusionary landscape all formed by the demonic fruit made by the Qlipoth. Urizen consumes the fruit and obtains overwhelming power, and despite this, Dante battles his brother. Despite the power the fruit granted him, Urizen is defeated by Dante. Nero and V arrive in the aftermath where Nero has learned from V that Urizen was Dante's brother, Vergil. Dante allows V to take matters into his own hands but realizes too little too late that V intended on reuniting with Urizen; resulting in Vergil's rebirth.

Dante charges at Vergil, but the latter did not wish to end their conflict with Dante so wounded and thus requested that he heal his wounds and get stronger before they settled the matter. Vergil escapes, but not before thanking Nero. Dante once again tries to send Nero back home but he refuses to go as Vergil is responsible for stealing his right arm from the very beginning. In a brief argument and out of frustration, Dante was forced to reveal that Vergil was Nero's father. He explains that he had a hunch when he first saw Nero but upon seeing how the Yamato reacted in Nero's possession, Dante was certain that he was Vergil's son. Dante finally tells his nephew that his father needed to be stopped but he didn't want Nero to be the one to do it given the circumstances. He leaves Nero to both grieve and ponder as he travels to the Qliphoth to confront his brother.

He briefly meets back up with Trish, Lady, and Nico, to discuss the situation, and Nico gives the Kalina Ann II to Dante, much to Lady's dismay. He tells the girls to leave while he takes care of Vergil. He finds opposition in the form of V's familiars, Griffon, Shadow, and Nightmare who are revealed to be the lingering abominable thoughts of when Vergil was Nelo Angelo. Since V had returned to Vergil, the familiars were free to kill Dante without anything or anyone holding them back. Dante wonders why they choose to fight him despite that they must know they don't stand a chance against him. After defeating them, he learns that with their death, Vergil's nightmares will end. With a final farewell to the familiars, Dante presses on.

The demon hunter finally arrives to the top of the Qlipoth where he demands the Yamato from Vergil, knowing fully well that Vergil was not going to give it up without a fight. The two brothers fight ruthlessly where Dante reveals to Vergil that Nero was his son, much to his brother's initial confusion. While Dante amusingly expresses interest in hearing the story on how Nero's conception occurred, he preferred to finish things with Vergil which the latter agreed to. Accessing their Sin Devil Trigger forms, they prepare to conclude their battle until Nero unexpectedly arrives and intervenes in their conflict with his true Devil Trigger form. Dante and Vergil are shocked by Nero's sudden transformation, but when Dante tries to remind Nero that this isn't his fight, he is suckerpunched that leaves him winded for a while. Dante shows indifference towards Vergil's suggestion that if he beats Nero means that he also beats Dante by default, so he decides to sit back and watch Nero and Vergil do battle.

Once Vergil is bested and the Qliphoth begins to crumble, Dante decides to put aside the conflict in order to take down the Qliphoth once and for all. He and Vergil decide to go into the Demon World, knowing fully well that they will not be able to come back if they go. Dante claims he wishes to go so he can "keep an eye" on Vergil. As Nero pleads with them, Dante tells him that it's because he is here that they can go into the Demon World. Despite Nero's protests, Dante and Vergil still go into the Demon World, leaving Nero behind as the new protector of the human world. Once in the Demon World, the brothers fend off numerous hordes of demons before successfully cutting down the roots of the Qliphoth, ending the crisis.

Now stuck in the Demon World, Dante and Vergil battle each other once again, but their rivalry now seems to be on more friendly terms. However, their sparring is being constantly interrupted by interfering demons. Much to Vergil's annoyance, Dante says his catchphrase "Jackpot!" as they proceed to fend off another demon horde.

Devil May Cry (novel)
Dante goes by the alias of Tony Redgrave. He has numerous encounters with a man named Gilver, who hides his face with numerous bandages and wields a katana. The man is discovered to be Vergil, before he became brainwashed by Mundus.

Devil May Cry 2 novel
The second Devil May Cry novel, this story takes place immediately before the second game. Unlike Devil May Cry 2, Dante retains his talkative, carefree personality from all of the other games and is allied with a woman named Beryl, who is similar to Lady and wields a Spiral-like rifle.

While hunting down the Beastheads statue, Dante is cast into an alternate dimension where Nelo Angelo and the other demons that appeared on Mallet Island instead rebelled against Mundus. Dante helps slay Mundus for them, and then returns to his own world, where he destroys the Beastheads.

Devil Trigger
Thanks to his half-demon nature, Dante can release his demonic power through his Devil Trigger. This turns him into a full-on demon and also it amplifies everything about him to a whole new level (like when he overpowered Abigail by just tapping into it). The appearance of this form varies throughout the games—in Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3, the form is influenced by which Devil Arm he carries, while in Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 4 he has a pair of Devil Forms believed to be his "true" Devil form. These forms greatly increase his strength, speed and healing speed and also it grants him new abilities, like flying. These abilities could be chosen in Devil May Cry 2 by selecting the different pieces in the Amulet together. In Devil May Cry 5, Dante gains access to a new form called Sin Devil Trigger after stabbing himself with Rebellion and absorbing the Devil Sword Sparda. This form is Dante's most powerful Devil Trigger form to date. Even more powerful than Majin Form in Devil May Cry 2.

Powers= Superhuman strength: Dante possesses incredible raw bodily strength even while in human form. He is able to easily throw around street thugs and an obese prison warden. He is also able to easily snap handcuffs.undefined He can shatter stone with little difficulty, and often overpowers demons much larger and more imposing than himself with ease. Dante also once easily blocked a punch from Nero's Devil Bringer and even casually forced him back with enough force to destroy a wall behind him and knocked down Nero with a single push to the back. He's even strong enough to block The Savior's punch with Rebellion without showing much strain.undefined Dante's display of superhuman strength, endurance, and resistance to injury shows that his physical condition is much tougher and more efficient than that of even most of the powerful demons, allowing him to exert his supernaturally enhanced muscle power to vast proportions without fear of injury or fatigue.undefined

Superhuman speed: Dante is blindingly fast, and in some cases appears to be teleporting. During his younger years, was capable of swinging his sword so fast that rain drops cannot escape his blade over a wide area.undefined Also while Dante was running down the side of Temi-Ni-Gru, he shot Rebellion, causing it to fall so quickly it began superheating the air around it, then he chased his sword fast enough to catch up to it and eventually reaching a speed great enough that the air around his hand became superheated as well.undefined Dante's reflexes are fast enough that he can dodge bullets, slice them, shoot them out of the air, and even catch them with his teeth.undefined

Superhuman agility: He is extremely agile as well; able to jump to great heights or even balance himself on a flying rocket, as well as run up vertical walls.undefined In addition, his agility allows him to perform amazing feats of acrobatics that easily surpass even the finest human acrobat.

Superhuman durability: Dante's durability has been shown to allow him to simply shrug off wounds that would either disable or outright kill a normal demon, such as being impaled through the chest with his own sword.undefined He was also punched by Beowulf so hard that his body made an imprint in the stone ground, but Dante showed no signs of injury. His teeth are also strong enough to catch bullets.undefined He is capable of withstanding Hellfire and lightning strikes with no signs of injury. undefined He was even capable of withstanding impale-like attack from Sid empowered by Abigail with no response of pain.

Superhuman Stamina: Despite some of the physically punishing things Dante has gone through, he has the ability to move forward with little difficulty. Even while impaled with Hell Pride's scythes lodged in his torso and arms, he casually walks about his office.undefined He often went on hours long missions with constant fighting, no rest, food, or water and shows no fatigue. However, his endurance does have its limits, a fact that was taken advantage of by Arkham.

Accelerated healing: Dante can rapidly heal even serious wounds; even the Hell Prides were surprised when he ignored their attacks.undefined Combined with his great resilience, Dante's healing factor makes him nearly unkillable.

Demon power manipulation: Dante is able to channel his demonic energies into various physical objects, ranging from his guns to the air itself.undefined

Telekinesis: Dante demonstrates telekinetic abilities, stopping Trish's motorcycle in mid-air before shooting it with Ebony and Ivory.undefined He also appeared to show telekinetic abilities in the anime, shown when he splayed his hand and Rebellion smashed through the ceiling window before landing in his hand, although this could also be related to Dante's metaphysical connection to the sword. Abilities= Weapon proficiency: Dante is proficient with a variety of weapons, including swords, scythes, gauntlets, and even unorthodox supernatural weapons. He displays an impressive ability to judge the capabilities of weapons almost as soon as he picks them up.

Swordsmanship: As Dante's primary fighting style, he is incredibly skilled with various types of swords including broadswords, katanas, and scimitars.

Marksmanship: Although he is aided by his superhuman precision in gunfights, Dante has an innate mastery of any firearm he comes in contact with. He is capable of shooting Ebony and Ivory in two different directions at once, and can aim with such accuracy that his bullets stack on the hilt of Yamato.undefined

Hand-to-Hand combat: While using gauntlet weapons, Dante has been shown to be highly proficient at hand-to-hand combat, using various martial arts techniques, including Bruce Lee's one-inch punch.undefined He is also capable of defeating lesser demons completely unarmed with little difficulty.undefined In his second fight with Nero, Dante outclassed his nephew with solely hand-to-hand combat upon being disarmed, soundly knocking him down and taking Yamato from him.

Intellect: An often overlooked aspect about Dante's abilities is his analytical skills. He showcases these skills in the form of a talent for reading people; he accurately assessed that the seemingly gentle Modeus was interested in killing him for his soul, and that Modeus was going to try to take revenge against him for killing Baul.

Musical aptitude: While using Nevan, Dante performs a more hardcore version of the first three verses of "Taste The Blood".undefined He also has a guitar and drumset in his office.undefined Arsenal=

Though Dante has an extensive collection of weapons, he most commonly carries:

Rebellion: A keepsake sword from his father and a manifestation of his power.

Ebony & Ivory: Dante's twin handguns, custom built for rapid fire.

Force Edge/Sparda: Dante temporarily replaced Rebellion as his main sword from the end of the events of Devil May Cry 3 until giving it to Trish at the end of Devil May Cry.

Devil Sword Dante: A blade born when Dante absorbed the Rebellion and the Sparda into his body. The weapon shares both his name and his will.

He has also used a shotgun in every title in the series, though its exact form changes throughout the games. Over the course of the first four games, Dante has collected a wide variety of weapons in addition to his regular arsenal, ranging from a curious electric guitar and several pairs of gauntlets/greaves to twin submachine guns and a shape-changing, demonic briefcase. He keeps many weapons and trophies displayed within his office, so it is likely that he keeps old weapons there as well.

Devil May Cry 4
While Nero's first encounter with Dante serves as a tutorial, the second fight is much harder, as he will begin using all four of his styles, as well as his Devil Trigger. It should be noted that, on higher difficulty modes, the battle in Mission 1 becomes just as difficult as the Mission 10 encounter.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
As part of a deal with the company Atlus, Dante, in his Devil May Cry 2 incarnation, makes a special guest appearance in the updated Maniax version of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, released as Shin Megami Tensei: Noctune and Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call in US and European territories, respectively.

In the story of the game, an event which recreates the world called the Conception occurs, killing almost every human in Tokyo save the few who may hold the key to recreating it. Dante is mentioned by an NPC before the Conception occurs as a "strange foreigner wearing a red cloak and carrying a big sword" walking around Tokyo, and later survives the Conception, being hired by a mysterious old man to kill the protagonist, the Demi-fiend. He is faced as a boss twice throughout the game, once in a mandatory fight, and again in an optional encounter in the Third Kalpa of the Labyrinth of Amala. He can later be recruited to the party in the entrance of the Fifth Kalpa, where he uses the same coin seen in Devil May Cry 2 to decide the fee for his services. His attacks are all based around his sword Rebellion and pistols Ebony & Ivory, using skills such as Roundtrip and Stinger.

Viewtiful Joe
Dante is a playable character in the PS2 version of the game, where he must save Trish. He later appears in the PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble as a bonus character, where he lends his biplane, Karnival, to Captain Blue for a scene in one of his movies, and he and the player race to defeat the boss of the stage.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Dante is a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in his Devil May Cry 3 outfit. He is first seen in a trailer facing off against Deadpool, his rival in the game. In his ending, he prepares to square off against Ghost Rider. Interestingly, his physical features seem to be based off of his Devil May Cry 4 incarnation, but his outfit and repertoire is directly lifted from Devil May Cry 3.

In the updated re-release, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Dante receives a new ending where he is approached by Mephisto, who attempts to tempt Dante into signing a contract with him with the promise of reviving his mother and improving relations with Vergil. Dante responds by threatening to kill him unless Mephisto can provide him a job that will pay excessively, so Mephisto requests Dante to take out his son, Blackheart. He also appears in Ghost Rider's ending where he, Ghost Rider, and Trish threaten Mephisto's life, forcing him to undo a contract.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Dante returns in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, retaining his Devil May Cry 3 looks. In this game, he obtain new moves like his a walking Horizontal Gun Shot during the shot, while an Air Shotgun acting as an Air Combo Finisher.

In the story mode after 88 days of Convergence caused by Ultron Sigma (a fusion between Ultron from Marvel's Ant-Man/Avengers and Sigma from Capcom's Mega Man X via Infinity Stones (mainly Space and Reality, while the rest are scattered across the merge universe)), he is amongst the heroes besides Thor, X, Chun-Li, Rocket and Hawkeye on the raid against Ultron Sigma in "their" base on a merged Highway and Asgard called Xgardian. He is first seen with Hawkeye and Rocket, and shares his Ebony & Ivory with Rocket for the latter's backup ammo. After Doctor Strange found out Thanos had been imprisoned by Ultron Sigma, the heroes plans a rescue mission, sending Chris Redfield, Chun-Li, Rocket, Strange and Strider Hiryu, in case if they are not powerful enough to defeat Ultron Sigma, which proves to be true. As Thanos has been rescued, the heroes fall back to Avengers Tower safely to create a new plan on splitting up each teams collecting Infinity Stones from Thanos' help, with Iron Man, Hawkeye and Spencer are last seen watching Thanos, in case if Thanos planned to betray the heroes behind their back.

Dante gains a more hotheaded attitude in this game, and somehow gains more control over his Devil Trigger, being able to speak within it. For the first time since Jedah's ending in Capcom Fighting Evolution, where Dante showed up behind him, he clashes with the Dark Messiah. He seems to have awakened more demonic traits in him, such as his nearly demonic laughter, when Jedah first counterattacks him and can be more capable of high-risk gambles, such as handing the soul stone to Ultron Sigma, despite this act appearing as outright betrayal to the heroes.

Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
Dante could be acquired by players in Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 during the Devil May Cry 5 collaboration period, and also acted as an enemy in one of the story chapters. He sports the Rebellion and Ebony & Ivory, with the Devil May Cry 5 model as the base look. Subhuman can also be heard multiple times during the story mode of the collab.

Teppen
Dante is one of the main Heroes in the base game of Teppen, being a Hero, he can be selected as the main character used in battle, and has three "Hero Arts" which have different functions from other heroes. Dante, alongside other characters and creatures within the Devil May Cry series, is featured in multiple cards in the game.



In the story mode of Teppen, Dante is shown on a devil hunting gig, of which makes him clash against Morrigan, as the two are fighting, he notices that a child got caught in the cross-fire, he succeeds in saving the little girl but Morrigan had turned into her human form to flee, when Dante notices it and is about to strike her again, X appears in order to protect what he believes is a human. The two end up fighting but afterwards, Dante still kept searching for Morrigan. A strange lady appears and mentions something to Dante, but he ends up blocking Chun-Li's way and this leads to the last battle of the story mode. The last cutscene displays that the words the mysterious lady mentioned was "Mundus" and that Dante should go to the "Land of Illusion", Dante then starts making way to that location stating that he doesn't want to miss the "party".

Other

 * Dante is featured as a character card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter DS.
 * Dante makes a cameo in Jedah Dohma's ending in Capcom Fighting Evolution.
 * Dante appears in the multi-crossover game Project X Zone alongside Lady. Dante forms a single unit alongside Demitri Maximoff, the demonic vampire of the Darkstalkers series. In combat, he fights with Rebellion, Ebony & Ivory, Coyote-A, and Nevan, yet interestingly takes on his appearance as seen in Devil May Cry. He also appears in the sequel, Project X Zone 2, this time partnered with Vergil.
 * Dante appears as a Rasta in Monster Hunter Frontier G, and his outfit is available as obtainable armor for players.
 * Dante's Devil May Cry appearance is featured as a DLC costume for Masamune Date in Sengoku Basara 4, and his swords are also replaced by Alastor.
 * Classic Dante appears as an unlockable icon in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.
 * In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Dante's coat and hairstyle, as well as the Devil Arm Alastor, were available for players for a limited time after completing a quest titled "Gravios May Cry".
 * Dante's appearance from Devil May Cry 4 appears on the cover of Capcom Super League Online.
 * In Monster Hunter: World, Dante's Devil Sword as well as a Dante alpha armour set, were available for players for a limited time after completing the Devil May Cry event quest titled "Code: Red".

Trivia

 * Dante's name comes from Dante Alighieri, who was a great Florentine poet of the Middle Ages. His central work, Divine Comedy, is often referenced or used thematically throughout the Devil May Cry series.
 * Dante seems to favor Jack Daniel's, a brand of whiskey, as his preferred choice of alcohol. He is seen drinking this brand in the anime and several bottles of it are scattered around his office in the epilogue to Devil May Cry 4.
 * In Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare, it's revealed that Lucia has feelings for him after the two of them reunite in Vie de Marli and defeat the fire demon, Balrog.
 * According to two different height charts that were officially made, Dante is 190 centimeters (6 feet 3 inches) tall. When entering Devil Trigger, his height apparently increases to 8 feet tall (244 centimeters). This trait is presumably shared by Vergil, by virtue of being his twin brother.
 * Devil May Cry 5 marks the first time Dante's sword gets broken.

Notes and references

 * excerpts


 * references

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